Malaysia: Small taste

 I am leaving Malaysia with the feeling that I only got a small taste of a large meal. From Singapore we flew in to KL, the capitol city of Malaysia and small city compared to Bangkok of only 2.6 million people.  A piece of advice for anyone who wants to go from Singapore to Malaysia: take the bus! It is cheaper and about the same amount of time to fly considering how far both airports are from the main city. We chalked up the use of taking a flight to “live and learn” and it was very nice to be treated to the creature comforts of flying international. With a pool, various gardens, and cultural artifacts on display- all efforts to create a swanky stopover hub- the Singapore airport is spectacular. 

We flew into Malaysia at night, so there wasn’t much option to see any of the city; however, taking the taxi offered a great view of the twin towers light up the night sky. We ate at Jalan Basar, a street with food vendors lining the street. As soon as we sat down at a table we were swarmed with various vendors shoving menus in our face all trying to persuade us to buy their specific dishes. I settled for a noodle soup. Unlike Thai rice noodles these were wheat noodles, the broth was much less sweat, and contained more green vegetables.

The next morning we explored the National Mosque, one of the largest Mosque in Southeast Asia. Visitors were welcome from 9-12PM, although we had to wear hooded robes to cover our heads. We started just walking around the mosque observing the architecture, but we were treated with a English speaking volunteer who explained more about Islam. She explained some of the fundamentals of Islam, the misconceptions of Islam, the layout of a mosque, and the methods of prayer. She was one of the kindest women we have encountered and extremely open to our questions, and after our tour she had great recommendations for lunch options. 

We ate up the hill from the mosque, in outdoor covered seating. The meal was a plate of white rice, and then you could add different curry dishes on top for various prices. I found Malaysian curry very creamy, similar to Indian. After lunch in the heat we walked to the Murdecka square to observe more Islamic architecture across the street from colonial architecture from the years of British control. We strolled around China town and a Hindu temple, but had to head back to the hostel to escape the heat. 

The next day we woke up early to get tickets to the skybridge in the Twin towers. We waited for an hour and half  for  a 10 Rinkets  (about 3 dollars) ticket to go to the 41^st floor to look out over the city. Unfortunately, there are only 400 tickets issued and you have to wake up very early to avoid the line.  While waiting on our ticket we walked to a the telecommunication tower, the fourth largest in the world, to see another symbol of the city. Again we ate in a hot food stall, but again the food was amazing. The fresh cucumber salad and fish curry was a great break from walking.

The Twin towers skybridge offered a decent view, but the highlight of the day was going to a Hindu temple nested 272 steps up a hill in a cave.  

Singapore

I arrived at my hostel, Fern Loft in Little India, in Singapore at 7PM local time after an hour ride from the metro into town and maneuvering the elaborate airport. The hostel in more upscale than some of the places I have stayed in Thailand and cost about 5 times more, but after a weekend in Singapore I have realized that everything is more upscale, more developed, and more innovative. I have had an amazing impression of Singapore. It is a country that is constantly striving to be the most innovative, most developed and always moving forward -although this is possible when the entire country is only 3 million people, encompassed on a small Island, and one of the business centers of the world.

I find the whole concept of Singapore fascinating, but I will explain more about the adventure now and digest some of the academic argument later. 

At the Hostel we enjoyed an 11 A.M breakfast with complementary  coffee, toast  and Singapore egg jam (Egg with lots of sugar and some cream).  We started the morning walking around Arab street, an area of town that was populated with Middle eastern shops, foods, and centered around an Sultan Mosque.  We were there during prayer time so we could hear the prayers and smell the incense.  From there we ate some  amazing India food – Murtabock, chicken curry, and warm naan. 

From there we ventured around the city. The most amazing part was stumbling upon the marina where the architecture was out of this world- so contemporay. We walked through a Helix bridge, and intense indoor mall, and a durian shaped opera house, and saw the giant ferris wheel (a sympol of Thailand).

We were taken in a car to the east side of Singapore to eat chili crab with sweet buns, oysters and glass noodle, barbe-q fish, Tofu, morning glory, and Malaysian noodles. We were so luck that one Leah had a friend in Singapore who was able to take us around and answer so many questions about the culture, the country, and the history. After dinner we looked out into the ocean. We Saw hundred of boats parked in the bay. It looked like another city out in the ocean.